Heaven
by shjayman
Summary: Well this is the standard I wish Martin and Ruthie got together plot, and I'm going to pretend that a lot of the things in 7th Heaven season 10 didn't happen. Long Oneshot. Read and Enjoy and Review please! Oh yeah, disclaimer for all one of the chapters.


**Heaven Doesn't Begin to Explain It**

**"Ruthie! Come downstairs and eat your breakfast!" Annie Camden called to her 14-year-old daughter. The woman of the house had her golden locks brushed back in a ponytail as she was packing her children's lunch. "Coming, Mom!" the blonde matriarch heard her child call back. It was really crazy, over the past decade her house had swelled up in population, then slowly but surely gone down. Now that Matt was living in New York, Mary was all over the place, and Lucy had moved out (albeit next door), most of the immediate Camden family had flown the coop. Even the visitors of the house had left, with Martin living with his father down the block. But he would always be a part of the family. **

**Brushing her long brown hair and then flipping it down her back, Ruthie Camden had finally finished getting ready and headed downstairs for breakfast. "Hey Mom, good morning", the girl said cheerfully as she kissed her mother on the cheek, grabbed a bagel and her lunch. "Sorry, gotta go. Project to do in school." Despite her protesting mother in the background, Ruthie had to rush to school. Running out of her backyard, then out the door, the brunette forgot to look as she tripped over a rock and into the arms of the closest person.** **Eyes shut tight in anticipation of falling hard on the ground; Ruthie instead felt her face go into a wall of chest. Opening her eyes the Camden realized that she had fallen into Martin's arms, embarrassingly enough. "Are you okay there?" asked the Army Brat, "Um Ruthie? Are you all right? You're kinda not moving. At all." Meanwhile the girl was very happy being smashed up against a pretty good smelling six-pack. "Oh, uh, sorry. Thanks for catching me; I'm sure that woulda hurt. But I gotta go, I need to get to school like, right now." **

**Running off again, Ruthie had gotten to a good start before she was grabbed around the waist and turned around. "Wait, you can get to school a lot faster if we take my car. There'll be a lot less running, and tripping." Relieved, the Camden girl breathed a sigh and said, "Thanks Martin, I don't know how I'll repay you." Laughing, the raven headed hottie replied, "Your breakfast will do just fine." As he grabbed Ruthie's bagel and started towards his car. **

**"So you must be really happy that your dad's finally home", Camden stated inquisitively when she and Martin were on their way to school in his car. "Uh, it's kinda surreal. I kinda expect to wake up and see that it's all been this cruel dream. Plus I know that he's gonna be called back, I just don't know when." Almost saddened by the tone of forlorn in Martin's voice, Ruthie wanted to cheer him up by adding, "Well, at least you get to see him all day, everyday." Smiling slightly the boy replied with, "Yeah, even though he works late at the Construction Company, I get to see him everyday, which definitely is a plus." Turning to face Ruthie once the car was at a red light, Martin confessed, "Thanks, you're the only person that I can talk to without making me feel like I'm in some sort of counseling session." In the moment, the girl replied, "Anytime, that's what friends are for." As the light turned green the Army Brat mumbled, "Yeah. Friends." **

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**Ruthie thankfully got to school on time and was half way through the school day when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Hi Ruthie." Turning around the girl saw that Mac had approached her. After a polite greeting, the boy cut to the chase with, "So what are you doing tonight? Wanna get some pizza at the Promenade?" The Camden was shocked into saying yes, but didn't really mind going out on a date with Mac. He was cute and Ruthie had always had a little crush on him. **

**That night while she was getting ready, Martin walked into her room like friends normally do. Because Camden was his very good friend, and that's it. Right. "Hey watcha doin'?" Turning around to greet the boy with a hairbrush still in her locks, Ruthie said, "Oh, I'm going on a date with Mac. I think he said we're going to the Promenade." She didn't notice that Martin had tensed up and looked like he wanted to kill someone. But only for a minute. Or ten. "O-oh. Mac. You. Date. S-so, why? I-I mean what are you gonna be doing?" Noticing that Brewer was acting a little strange, Ruthie replied with, "Um, some pizza, and then, like I told you we're going to the Promenade. Are you okay with this?" Standing up straighter Martin said, "Y-yeah, why wouldn't I be?" He couldn't put his finger on it, but the boy didn't like Ruthie going out with Mac, and he didn't know why. **

**"So I had a really good time tonight, Ruthie." After their date Mac had walked Ruthie back to her place, and the two were outside the Camden home fence. "Yeah, so did I. The weather was really good for a walk." _What, I'm talking about_ weather _now?_ Ruthie thought. "Yeah," Mac replied and leaned in to kiss the girl. Camden was enjoying the kiss very much until she felt her date reach up her shirt. "Wait Mac, don't. This is too fast." **

**Ruthie didn't like the sudden turn of events as she heard "Oh, come on baby, I get so much further than this on all my other first dates." Not very comfortable with what Mac was doing, the girl began to protest louder. Especially when he began to undo Ruthie's bra. Suddenly the boy was lifted bodily from his invading position and landed on the ground, moaning in pain. Martin had tackled his friend in order to get him away from Camden. In a strange, manly voice he said, "She said no. Learn to listen. Come on, Ruthie." Taking the girl by the hand and leading her to the back door of the Camden home, Martin took Ruthie by the shoulders and asked, "Are you all right?" Still a bit shaken by almost being raped, the girl replied, "Uh-huh", and buried herself in Martin's arms, "Thanks." Not knowing what to do, the boy just sat there with an upset Ruthie until they BOTH fell asleep. **

**At around five in the morning, Martin and Ruthie awoke simultaneously, realizing they had fallen asleep in each other's arms. Annie and Eric had opened the door hours before, worried about their youngest daughter. When they saw that she was with Martin, albeit asleep, they decided to leave the two alone. Plus it's bad luck to wake a sleeping person. Double the people, double the bad luck. **

**"Um, Ruthie? You awake there? We fell asleep." Sitting up with her hand asleep after resting between her cheek and Martin's chest, Ruthie replied, "Yeah, I'm awake. And I should be getting home. It's late." After exchanging goodbyes, the two went their separate ways. **

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**Ruthie had a lot to think about as she was going through her school day. Ever since Mac tried to take advantage of her the night before, the girl had a new impression of him. Yup, he was a downright scumbag. But Ruthie had a new perspective on Martin as well. She knew that he was a kind, well-to-do person who did almost anything for those he cared for, but now Ruthie had a distinct feeling that the boy liked her. And she liked Martin, too, now that she thought about it. The fact that he was hot really helped. The fact of the matter was, Ruthie had to tell him that she liked him. She was the kind of person that needed to get things like that off her chest. So that was why she had arranged to do homework at Martin's house that night. **

**"Okay, shirt on, pants on, socks on, tie on. Wait! What do I need a tie for? I'm not going to a restaurant, I'm gonna be sitting at home with Ruthie, doing homework", Martin was mumbling out loud as he subconsciously put on a tie, then removed it. The boy had known for a long time that he liked Camden, but he had always thought that it was just a crush, and it would go away. But seeing her with Mac made Martin want to clobber the guy, especially after what he did last night. The more the Army Brat thought about it, the more he realized that he could not get over Ruthie easily. "Hey, Martin, ready to study?" Jumping at the sound of Camden's voice, the boy suavely turned and said, "Yeah, sure, just meet me in the kitchen. I'll be right down." **

**Ten minutes later while the two were doing homework, Ruthie decided to take the plunge and said, "So, I need help with my global project, I like you, and it's on the last Emperor of China." It took a while for Martin to understand what she had said, "Okay, after I'm done with my calculus homework, I'll help you, and- what!" Seeing that her words had almost given Martin a heart attack, Ruthie continued, "Okay, don't get mad, but I've developed sort of a crush on you. I-I think I've always liked you, but how you protected me last night really made me realize my feelings for you." Something in what the girl said hit Brewer's heartstrings. "Wait. Why would I get mad at you?"**

"**You're not mad?"**

"**No, actually, I-I like you too." **

"**Really?"**

**During this conversation, the two had inched closer and closer together. At the word really, Ruthie pulled Martin by his shirt down to her eye level and laid one on him. It was just a smack on the lips, really, but after the two parted, the boy looked shell-shocked. He breathed, "Wow," and reached his arms around Ruthie's waist, pulling her in for another, deeper, more passionate kiss. Once Martin's lips met Camden's, he couldn't control himself. Grabbing the girl and holding her tight, Brewer never wanted to let go, but then he felt his hands inching towards the top of Ruthie's shirt. His eyes immediately shot open and Martin separated from the girl, not looking at her. "U-um, I think I should leave. I'm sorry." With this Brewer headed out the front door, and five minutes later when he realized that it was his home he had just left, Martin came back and went straight to his room. All this happened with the boy managing not to look at Ruthie. **

**The next day at school the Camden girl left a note in Army Brat's locker, saying _I have no idea why you acted the way you did, but we need to talk. Meet me in my room before dinner tonight. Love Ruthie. _She knew that Brewer was a noble man, and the _Love Ruthie_ would leave a little intrigue, which never hurt. That night while the girl was finishing up with her homework, she heard a knock at her door. Turning and seeing that it was Martin, Ruthie let him in and began to talk once the two were sitting face to face on Camden's bed. "Okay, I just want to say that I'm not mad at you. I just wanna know why you pulled away like that yesterday. Do I repulse you or something? You can tell me." At this Martin's eyes widened, "No! I'm not repulsed by you, don't even say that! Actually, it's exactly the opposite of what you think. You're gonna think that I'm a pervert or something." Taking the boy by the hand, Ruthie softly said, "I know you well enough to know that you can never be a pervert. Just please tell me what's wrong." Bracing himself for Camden's reaction, Brewer continued, "All right. I like you. I really do. You're the best of both worlds, a crush and a best friend put together. But when I kiss you, I can't control myself. I've never felt like this before, and I don't want to hurt you like Mac did. I never want you to feel like Mac made you, ever again." **

**Smiling very softly, Ruthie yanked Martin down to her height and kissed him. Really kissed him. After she pulled away, she whispered, "You're not Mac. And who said I wanted you to control yourself around me? At least when we're alone." Martin raised his eyebrows in curiosity at Ruthie's risqué comment. Giggling, in a manly way, of course, Army Brat leaned in to kiss Camden lightly, then rougher and more intensely. Slowly Brewer eased himself on top of Ruthie, and she was doing nothing to stop the effort, what with her hands and arms all over the boy. "_Ruthie! Dinner! Martin can stay, too!"_, the two heard Annie calling to her seemingly innocent daughter. Brewer and Camden shot up from their positions on the girls' bed, laughing at their reactions. "Okay, I think I can stay, but I don't know if we should do – what we were just doing – in front of your parents." Smirking, Ruthie agreed, and before the couple descended the stairs, Martin caught the girl and kissed her lovingly, broke apart and headed down casually, as if he snuck around with girls everyday. **

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**The dinner was very pleasant, and Lucy and Kevin had joined the family, celebrating their buying a house. Martin and Ruthie were seated next to each other at the main dining table, both remembering their encounter upstairs minutes ago. During the meal, Brewer felt a hand running up his thigh and stopping about five inches from the zipper of his pants. Grinning very uncomfortably, the boy turned and stared at Ruthie, who winked subtly back. "So Martin, how do you like having your father home?" asked Eric, turning everyone's attention to the Army Brat. **

Brewer wasn't very comfortable with the attention from the family and their youngest daughter, even though he wasn't one to object to the way she was treating him. "Um, well, it's great really, but I know he has to go baaaaaaaaaaaack! one day. Um, yeah." The not so innocent Ruthie had run her hand further up Martin's thigh and began to tickle him while the boy was talking. The Camden family was looking at Brewer like he was crazy, but Ruthie took the heat off of him by changing the subject. Breathing a sigh of relief, Martin was happy that no one suspected anything. But he didn't know that Kevin was as suspicious as they came. He was a cop, duh.

A week later when Brewer came over for a homework session with Ruthie he didn't notice Kevin watching him intently from the couch. Knocking on the attic room door, Martin greeted Camden with a kiss on the cheek and they began their homework. Surprisingly the couple had self-discipline, waiting until both were finished with their assignments until even looking at each other. Or perhaps it was because neither person had any self-control, and avoidance was the only was to achieve um… homework.

Putting his pen down and turning to look at the girl beside him, Martin found that Ruthie was finished with her work, and he took her by the hand to her bed. The two were sitting next to each other once again, and Brewer leaned in to kiss Camden, but the girl decided to take charge. Keeping her hands firmly on Martin's shoulders, at the same time keeping him still, Ruthie kissed him roughly, including some tongue. This resulted in a surprised grunt from the boy, as the brunette pushed Army Brat down on the girl's bed and straddled his hips. Diving down under, Ruthie kissed Martin hungrily, and during the make out session the boy's hands were running up and down his girl's back. Just as Brewer hands slid up Camden's shirt, an "Eh-hem", was heard.

The couple shot up from the bed and froze when they saw Kevin at the attic door. Martin was trying to explain with, "Um, we were just – just – um, homework, yeah, homework. Um, um – yeah." This speech was accompanied by lots of pointing, and ended with the boy resting his head in his hands in anxiety. "Sure, yeah, keep your pants on, and I really mean that, Martin. You two were bound to get together one of these days, so I'm not really surprised. But I just wanna remind the two of you that BOTH of you are under 18. Be careful. Can I trust you?" After nodding from Martin and Ruthie, Kevin went on with, "Now I'm not gonna tell anyone about this, because it looks like you're having fun with sneaking around, but I will not lie when asked. Got it? Good." Once the cop left, the lovebirds waited for a while, then began laughing hysterically, leaning their foreheads against each other's in an attempt to catch their breath. "Ohmigod, that was funny, but imagine if that was my brother or something?" Martin really didn't want to think about that, and he was too caught up in the moment to worry much. Yet.

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"MATTTT! YOU'RE HOME!", Ruthie ran into her big brother's arms when she saw him standing in the front doorway. "Yeah, oh I missed you." The med student hugged his baby sister and when she asked what he was doing at home, replied, "Sarah and I have a class vacation, so we came to visit Glenoak. Happy?" Smothering herself in Matt's shirt, the girl yelled, "YES!"

"Well, I have a better surprise." Ruthie heard from behind her oldest brother, "I'm home too. How 'bout some love?" Running from one guy to another, the brunette squealed, "SIMON!" After hugs and kisses were exchanged, the girl asked, "Wait, did you organize both of you coming home today?" Big brothers Camden nodded, "Yeah, we wanted to have most of the family together to tell you some big news. Well, I'll tell you first. Sarah's pregnant." The squealing and jumping and hugging continued hereafter for about ten minutes. Matt announced, "She'll be coming here in a few hours, she just has to visit her parents and tell them the news." Ruthie was so happy that her brothers were home, but her bliss grew tenfold when she saw Martin coming through the front door. "Martin, Matt and Simon are home! Even better, Sarah's pregnant!" Smiling and nodding in congratulations, instead of shaking Matt's hand, Army Brat hugged Ruthie, much control needed so he wouldn't kiss her then and there.

When the brunette and Brewer hugged each other, they seemed to be in another world of happiness, lost in each other's arms. This presentation made Simon and Matt glance at one another suspiciously, but they were distracted by the rest of the family coming to greet them. Hopefully, Matt and Simon would forget about what they saw.

That night after dinner, Ruthie and Martin were sitting on the girl's bed in the attic. "So, who's taking charge this time, you or me?" Brushing back Camden's longs dark hair, Brewer made her giggle. "All right, you win." She said, and pulled him by the neck, in for a long kiss. As their tongues were dueling, Martin slowly eased himself on top of Ruthie, as was common stance. Going with the moment, Camden slid her hands up the boy's shirt, feeling his six-pack and then pulling him closer to her body. Just as the brunette was about to get Martin's shirt off, she heard a noise halfway between a scream and a yelp. Pulling away from the boy whose lips she was massacring seconds before, Ruthie saw her eldest brother not ten feet away from them, trying to form words. "Matt! What are you doing here!" She was met with, "Wha – wha – whaaattt are you doing on my sister!" It was then that Martin realized he was still on top of Ruthie, but he couldn't seem to move. "Hey, Matt, I was gonna get some pizza for us, then I wanted to see how Ruthie's doing –", Simon said as he entered the room, but when he took in the scenario, finished with, "-- but it looks like she's doing just fine, Ruthie, WHAT THE HELL! Dude, get off my little sister!" The yelling started something in Martin's motor side of the brain, but it wasn't the right thing as the Army Brat promptly fell off the bed. "Oww," he groaned, but then yelled, "Hey!", when Simon picked him up by the collar of his shirt and set him standing on the ground. Any of Simon's attempts to appear intimidating were halted when he realized that Martin was at least a foot taller than him. But that still didn't stop the Camden brother's from yelling at the couple. Matt started with, "What are you guys doing! Are you even dating! Please don't tell me that you're friends with benefits!" and Simon ended with, "Man, how old are you, coz do you know that Ruthie, little Ruthie Camden is only 14! You better not be 18, I'd kill you if you were taking advantage of my baby sister! Wait, Matt, what did you see them do?"

"Martin was on top of Ruthie, they were going at it, and she was too close taking his shirt off."

"WHAAT! You guys were about to have s--- no! She's my little sister!"

During the exchanges of yelling and more yelling, Ruthie became madder and madder. "LISTEN! SHUTTT UP!" Her outburst halted all conversation and all eyes were on her as she pulled Martin by the hand, closer to her. "We are both under 18, we were NOT about to do it, and I AM NOT A BABY! It's true that I'm your little sister, but that's not how Martin sees me, and that's not how I see myself!"

After the little soliloquy, Simon breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay man, so you're under 18? How old're you?" Martin replied, "Yeah, I'm 17." Little did he know that he had just set off a protective older brother bomb. "You're 17! That's one year less than 18! When you're 21, my baby sister, oh, sorry Ruth, my _sister_ will be 18, did you think of that? She'll still be a teenager!" Instead of focusing on the age difference, Matt interrupted with, "Man, you still didn't tell me what the hell you were doing on top of my sister." Martin and Ruthie were fed up by now, the Army Brat stating, "All right, enough, you've asked your questions, _now let us answer, _will ya?" Putting an arm on her man's shoulder, the brunette said, "Thanks Martin, I'll answer the questions. Okay, so Martin and I haven't talked about age difference or anything, we were just caught up in the moment. We may have been a bit hormonal, but we haven't been stupid." Brewer, looking to defend himself and Ruthie, piped up, "Yeah, we haven't done anything we shouldn't be doing, anything we weren't ready for. This whole time, we've just been meeting, doing homework, and making out. A lot." Eyes widened, both Matt and Simon screamed, "WHAT!", with Simon adding, "That is _not _something we needed to know." Ruthie nudged Martin in the side and whispered, "Brothers get mad when they hear that kind of stuff." Realizing his mistake the boy chuckled nervously and murmured, "Heh heh, Sorry."

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After a few days, Matt and Simon eventually got over the fact that Martin and Ruthie were together. If that was even the word for it. They even agreed to keeping what they saw a secret, for the time being. The Camden daughter argued that she needed to tell their parents, all on her own. If her brothers would just give her some time, Ruthie would find the best way to tell them. And she gave the big eyes slash pouty look, which always buckles big bros.

Martin had another problem, too, involving school and certain guys who had a very large problem with him. Mac had joined a gang during the time that Martin and Ruthie had gotten together. He was now one of the ringleaders and had it out for his former friend, really badly. One day after baseball practice the Army Brat was changing and getting ready to meet Camden outside the gym. The two had to be really careful where they were seen together; they didn't want anyone else to find out about their encounters. When Martin just finished putting on his shoes he heard Mac going on in the background, "Yeah, that hot Ruthie Camden is as good in bed as she looks. She's a freak!" His hand forming a fist, Brewer took in a deep breath, knowing that Mac was trying to get under his skin. "Martin was into her at first, and she was about to get with him, but I showed her what she was missing, you know, you gotta show the girl who's boss." That annoyingly chauvinistic statement angered the Army Brat a lot, but not as much as, "When Ruthie didn't want to have sex, I just smacked her around a little. She deserved it, and really liked when I made her say my name!" Around this time Martin's knuckles turned white, the boy got up and said, "Shut up man, normal people just don't say stuff like that." Walking towards Brewer until their noses were inches away, Mac replied, "Yeah, and normal people don't go tackling their _best_ friends when they're trying to get some!" At the word _best_ the boy poked the Army Brat in the chest.

"Getting some doesn't mean taking advantage of a girl on your first date. Okay, Ruthie was scared and you shouldn't have done that, man." Dismissing Martin, Mac said, "You're not my man, so don't try to be, with all that goody two-shoes advice. That wasn't cool, stopping me from getting with Ruthie. Man, I should be on her right now." Angered into a slight whisper, Martin muttered, "I'm not your man", and punched Mac in the stomach. Expecting, no, hoping for this, Brewer's former friend took on the attack, slowly bringing it near the back door of the boy's locker room, which led into an alley. Before the Army Brat knew it, he had been pushed into the alley and was surrounded by a dozen other guys; each affiliated with Mac's gang. Looking around, the boy noticed that he was in the center of a ring of strangers, which was never a good thing. Hearing from behind, "Okay my bros, teach this busy body a lesson", Martin tried to turn but was hit in the head with something really hard. Dazed yet still conscious Brewer began stumbling around haphazardly, ready to fight. The time had come, however, for the whole gang to jump him: punching, kicking, hitting, and slicing at whatever they could get. Martin took a few punches in the face, several hits to his torso, and a knife to his leg before he fell unconscious after another blow to the head. Backing up off of him, the gang surveyed the damage done and took off, knowing full well the ties Martin had to the government and being damn scared of it.

It was 5:30 and Brewer was never late, Ruthie thought while she waited for her beau to finish practice, which was supposed to be twenty minutes ago. _Where could he possibly be? With his other girls?_ The girl joked to herself, then immediately wished it wasn't true. "Hey Ruthie, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be on your way home!" The Camden heard Kevin calling to her. He was in his car not ten feet away, with Matt and Simon. Walking up to them Ruthie replied, "I'm waiting for Martin, but he's running late, I don't know where he is. But what are you guys doing here?" Matt stuck his head out the car window and said, "The girls of the house felt that us men needed some estrogen-free time. Wait, is Martin _ever _late? I don't think he'd keep you waiting." Agreeing wholeheartedly with her brother, Ruthie confided, "Yeah, I'm getting kinda worried. I hope nothing happened." Trying to console his sister-in-law, Kevin reassured her, "I'm sure nothing happened, but to be safe, we'll help you look for him." The three men got out of the car, and with Ruthie headed towards the gym. "There's an alley near here which leads to the locker rooms through a back door. We can enter through there", the Camden girl stated.

Walking into the alleyway the four people continued for a while before they saw the outline of a person lying on the ground. When they got closer they could see that the person wasn't moving, and upon nearing the figure, all could see that it was Martin, spread-eagle and unconscious. "OMIGOSH! MARTIN!" Ruthie screamed after realizing that the mass was Brewer. She knelt by his side and saw that he was severely battered and bloody. "Oh my goodness", Matt breathed, "Damn", Simon murmured, and "Don't just stand there, guys, help him!" Kevin shouted. Startled into movement, the men huddled around Martin's still body. "Okay, let's see", the oldest Camden said as he examined the battered boy. "Oh, damn. This kid's been hurt almost everywhere. And – I think he's been stabbed." As he raised one of Brewer's pant legs, blood seeped into Matt's hand. Screaming slightly, Ruthie began to cry, and Simon hugged her tightly, keeping her face turned away from Martin.

"We need to get him to a hospital, now." Kevin called an ambulance, which rushed the boy to Glenoak Medical Center. There, Martin was stitched up and bandaged, the stab being a surface injury and requiring little stitching. The boy awoke for a minute, and the doctors could tell that he didn't have a concussion, he was just very tired.

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Blinking away the sleep, Martin looked around him and instantly regretted it. His head was pounding and everywhere else hurt like crazy. "Oww. Arrgghh", Brewer groaned. Putting his hand to his forehead, Martin found that both were heavily bandaged. "What the hell?" he breathed, seriously confused about where he was and what was going on. Suddenly the boy felt someone take his hand gently. "Martin?" Ruthie was sitting next to him, leaning over so he can see her face. "Ughhhh, Ruthie? What happened?" Slightly perturbed the girl asked, "You don't remember?" and when Brewer shook his head no, she continued with, "We – Matt, Simon, me and Kevin, found you in the alley behind the locker rooms. You were really banged up. I mean, you were all bloody, someone stabbed you! So, we got you to the hospital, and you don't have a concussion, but you still gave us all a scare." Trying to smile, but grimacing in pain instead, Martin whispered, "I'm sorry."

Ruthie's eyes swept up and down Martin's body with a worried expression on her face. Immediately paranoid the boy asked, "What's wrong. How messed up do I look?" Smiling, the Camden said, "No, it's not that. I just – there are so many bandages on you, and I saw you in the alley, with all the blood and everything. I can't imagine how much you must be hurting." Putting up a slight front, Martin stuck up his chin and stated, "Ah, it's not that bad." Ruthie ran a finger down Brewer's face gently and murmured, "You're so brave," jokingly. The girl leaned down to kiss her boy on the lips, but was interrupted when Martin groaned in pain. "Yuw om mwi spwlt wup." Brewer mumbled. Lifting her head from the Army Brat, Ruthie looked at him questioningly and he said again, "You're on my split lip." Gasping, the girl breathed, "Oh, I'm so sorry!" as her beau attempted to smile. "It's okay."

"Stop hurting him Ruth, can't you tell he's damaged enough, you don't wanna break him", Matt was standing by the door of the room Martin was in, watching the two. Confused for the second time in minutes, the Army Brat asked, "Wait, where _am_ I?" Raising her eyebrows in realization, Ruthie replied, "Oh yeah, you must be confused. Well, the ER was really busy and since no bones were broken or anything, you were sent home." Nodding as well as he could, Martin paused and said, "But hey, this isn't my house." The Camden girl continued with, "Your dad wasn't home, so we brought you to our house. You were unconscious when we got here, so Matt and Kevin carried you to Simon's old room. We told your dad what happened, and you've been sleeping ever since, which has been for the past, like, two days."

Interrupting the relay of events, Matt asked, "So we still don't know why you were in that alley, what was going on?" Martin furrowed his eyebrows and went, "I really don't know. The last thing I remember was – I was in the locker room, and Mac began saying these really disgusting things. I tried to make him stop and we got into a fight."

Matt: "Wait, you just got into a fight with the kid because he was saying gross stuff?"

Martin: "It wasn't just that. He was talking about Ruthie."

Matt: "Why was he talking about Ruthie?"

Ruthie: "Because he's irritated that I didn't let him have sex with me."

After a short pause the oldest Camden said, "Wait…WHAT!" Giving an exhausted sigh, Ruthie explained, "When Mac and I went on a date a while ago, he tried to take advantage of me. But Martin stopped him and Mac has stayed away from me since then." Nodding, Matt asked, "So is that when you two got together?" and he received a yes from both people and continued with, "Okay, can you tell me the rest of what happened Martin? What else do you remember?" Staring into space slightly, the boy went on, "We were fighting and then suddenly we ended up in the alleyway. Mac's posse was there, they surrounded me – I got hit in the head with something _really_ hard. I mean, it _really_ hurt! Anyway, the rest was a blur, and then I woke up here."

Matt announced, "All right, so we've established that you were probably jumped by a group of Mac's friends. We'll think about that later, and right now we should focus on you getting better. You get some rest Martin. Ruthie, come on." Agreeing with her brother, the brunette lightly kissed the Army Brat on the cheek. The boy tried to say goodbye, but fell asleep half way through.

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A few days later, Martin was able to walk around without stumbling very much. When he was leaving his room, with no aid for the first time, the boy passed by the mirror and immediately backed up. "Whoa", he breathed, examining his reflection in horror. Brewer's had a black eye, there was a bandage around his head, and the rest was mostly black and blue. Since he was in his boxers and a t-shirt, the Army Brat was able to see a gauze bandage on his leg, along with many bruises and half-healed scars. Almost afraid to look, Martin lifted up his shirt slowly but found that that was a difficult task. The cloth roughly passed by an injured area on the boy's stomach, forcing him to breathe in sharply and whisper, "Oww". Wincing, Brewer brought his shirt up further and his eyes passed slowly over his own stomach and chest. There were many bruises over Martin's stomach, his once evident six-pack now shrouded by injuries. His ribs were black and blue, explaining why it hurt to breath. And talk and walk.

Unfortunately, Martin's wounds felt much worse than they looked.

Raising his chin defiantly, the boy stood up straight like his father had taught him, and started to walk towards the door once more. "Ohh! Oww", Brewer groaned in pain, clutching his stomach and bending slightly. "I am _not _gonna let something psychological like pain get in my way!" he muttered to himself. Martin took a deep breath, stood up straight, and made it to the door before sinking to his knees, hugging his own torso. "Okay, the pain is very much real. Oww." Then he heard above him, "Need some help, man?" and looked up to find Matt holding his hand out to him. Taking it thankfully, Martin was helped up and leaned himself against the wall. "Oh, thanks Matt. I don't think I would have made it downstairs." Chuckling, the oldest Camden child took a serious tone with, "You should get some more rest, and don't go anywhere without someone's help."

"Okay dad. But I think I can move without you holding my hand." Matt laughed and then said solemnly, "Um, I want to thank you for defending Ruthie. You've gone through a lot for her. I can tell you really like her." Martin nodded with sincerity, the Camden continued with, "And I see that she really likes you, too. I mean, when she saw you in that alley, I've never seen her that scared in my life. She cares about you."

Confused for a bit, Brewer stated, "I really don't know what to say to that." Upholding the older brother attitude, Matt answered "Just take care of her, and don't give me a reason to take any of what I just said back." Then he left for the bathroom. _Hey! I was supposed to go in there! Oh well. Um, I think I just got the big brother, _if you hurt my sister I'll hunt you down _speech. Weird._

Instead of going to bathroom like he had originally planned, Martin set his stakes high and made his way to Ruthie's room. Need I remind you that that's one floor _up_? Eh, young love, what can you do? Anyway, returning to the story:

Holding onto the railing and trying to go as fast as possible, Martin made his was up the stairs to Ruthie's attic. Each step brought a groan on pain from his mouth and a grimace to Brewer's face, but the raven headed hottie wanted to do this by himself. When he made it to the top step, Army Brat was so happy to see Ruthie that instead of focusing on walking, he looked at her. This resulted in him tripping and landing on his face, which must've seriously hurt.

When Camden heard a loud, "Owwwwwww! Urrghhhhhh", from behind her, she whipped her head around and saw Martin lying facedown on her floor. "Oh my gosh, Martin, are you okay? Of course you're not okay, what are you doing here?" Mumbling into the carpet, Army Brat replied, "Wfmntgd bu shee wh", lifted his head from the ground and repeated, "Wanted to see you", promptly dropping his head once more. Smiling at the sweet boy, Ruthie whispered, "Awwww", then loudly, "Oh, you need some help!" and rushed to help her Martin up. "Uhh, man. Thanks." Once Ruthie had helped the boy to her bed, she lifted his face so that their eyes met and said, "You came all the way up here to see me, in your condition. You're so sweet", and her lips lightly touched his. In the midst of the kiss, Martin murmured, "Oww", causing the Camden girl to ask, "What's wrong? Split lip again?" grinning slightly, Brewer whispered, "Naah. It's just--- I'm really sore."

Not expecting to hear this answer, then feeling guilty for not knowing that when someone gets beaten up, it usually hurts, Ruthie said, "I have some of my grandma's herbal lotion to help with the soreness. Hold on." She went to her drawer and took out some cream in a pink jar. "Just relax, you'll feel much better soon." Easing Martin's shirt up and his body into a sleeping position, Camden began to smooth cool herbal lotion onto the bruises lightly. Instant relief hit Brewer's injuries, "Oh damn, that feels good", he breathed in a fit of happiness. He couldn't stop himself from going, "Ohhhhhhhhh. Man. Ruthie. Ohhhhh." Which made Ruthie laugh a little. Meanwhile on the floor below, Matt and Simon both heard moans and giggling coming from their sister's room, and got the completely wrong idea. Looking at each other for a split second, the two men dashed up the stairs into the attic. They saw Martin with half his shirt on, and Ruthie rubbing lotion onto him. But before they could give the Army Brat more bruises, Ruthie started, "You guys, are u gonna overreact again? Because I'm just putting Grandma's lotion on Martin's bruises; he's in a lot of pain." Well what can anger do when faced with reason? In the Camden house, it goes away. "Heh. You're a good girlfriend Ruthie." Simon said, then turned around and left, forcibly taking Matt with him.

Martin got Ruthie's attention by nudging her shoe with his foot, and when she turned to face him she was met with a smile. "What is it Martin?" smiling as best he can without hurting himself, the Army Brat whispered, "You know it's true. What Simon said. You are a good girlfriend. I want you to be my girlfriend." Keeping herself restrained as best she could so as not to jump on Brewer, the girl giggled. "And you're my boy."

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